malachai wrote:"irregardless" is nonstandard English for "regardless". It is probably a blend of irrespective and regardless.

I don't think it makes sense to complain about it because it isn't logical - language is not logic - or because it is redundant - languages are redundant.

or irresponsible, irreplaceable, etc.

It's not a redundancy really, but a double negative -different other animal.

I think we protest because either:

a) it offends the plaintiff's logic (see Stargzer's multiplicative algorythm (sic) post above) and thus muddies the intended meaning (personally as a dedicated Arithmophobic I feel burdened to have to start adding up negatives to see what the final score was, multiply by the context, subtract the speaker's background and finally come up with nothing more certain than an educated guess, when all the while "regardless" could have been used (see also gaffers)).

or
b) it just aggravates the plaintiff that the speaker is not listening to him/herself (see also nuclear) yet expects the listener to do so.

Or both. it sounds (a) evasive, and (b) careless

I think my pet peeve of this type of abuse is <cringe> "I could care less", when intended to mean exactly the opposite It does distract from the message when you have to pause the flow of thought to reverse the meaning of what you just heard.
War is peace. Ignorance is strength. Freedom is slavery.Thus irregardless is not unlikely considered...
what's not the unword?
Ah, not no: irresponsible.

malachai wrote:But do people say "I could care less" or "irregardless" when they intend the opposite? I don't think they do.

Some overnegation is confusing."Do you not believe that, through the act of immigration, our nation has not been anything if not improved?"

What does that mean? I don't know. But in contrast, "I could care less" and "irregardless" are obvious in their meaning.

The contrasting examples above are equally equivocal to me.

I wish they didn't but people indeed do say "I could care less" meaning "I couldn't care less". I agree that its meaning is obvious but really, these speakers in question say one and mean the other. It's all over; I can't explain it but it really is there.

Do people really say "I could care less" when they mean "I couldn't care less"? Is it really their intention to convey the meaning that it is possible for them to care less about the thing in question?

No. They mean that it is impossible for them to care less. The literal meaning of "I could care less" means that it is possible to care less. But people who say "I could care less" obviously don't mean that.

malachai wrote: The literal meaning of "I could care less" means that it is possible to care less. But people who say "I could care less" obviously don't mean that.

Which was exactly my point. Cheers!

PS thanks Malachi for stirring up the dust of Chaos around here. Stimulating

You're welcome!

But I feel that we're coming at this from very different angles. People who say "I could care less" obviously don't mean that literally. Therefore, "I could care less" is an idiom whose meaning is different from its literal meaning.

In other words, everyone knows what is meant by "I could care less." I don't see why there is confusion.

malachai wrote:Do people really say "I could care less" when they mean "I couldn't care less"? Is it really their intention to convey the meaning that it is possible for them to care less about the thing in question?

I think the answer's obvious here, in my opinion due to the vast (or is it just half-vast?) numbers of people I've met I believe it's because most people live completely unconscious lives, they have no idea they are saying the exact opposite of what they mean.

No. They mean that it is impossible for them to care less. The literal meaning of "I could care less" means that it is possible to care less. But people who say "I could care less" obviously don't mean that.

as I said I disaggree.
mark just-do-it Bailey

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...kb

Bailey wrote:I think the answer's obvious here, in my opinion due to the vast (or is it just half-vast?) numbers of people I've met I believe it's because most people live completely unconscious lives, they have no idea they are saying the exact opposite of what they mean.

I agree with Bailey about the unconscious state of the half-vast population.

Pet peeves about language misuse have a common denominator: speakers who do not apply any thought to what they are saying and instead just regurgitate previously heard ideas or phrases. (Like Orwell's duckspeak in which the brain is disconnected from the mouth.)

Mistakes such as "irregardless" and "I could care less" are legion. But they persist due to a combination of ignorance and carelessness.